


One More Chance

by AlyaRayne



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: 4:22 AM Phone calls, Christina Aguilera song, Fluff, I have no idea what to tag, Slight Character Study, Slight spoilers, Suzuya Juuzou - Freeform, no he doesn't kill anyone, not a songfic, this time, yes he gets a warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-05
Updated: 2015-04-05
Packaged: 2018-03-21 10:56:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3689643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlyaRayne/pseuds/AlyaRayne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>‘Shinohara-san…well he…he's…’ His feet slapped against the concrete, his real one stinging and aching with the cold and the wet, but he ignored it. He had felt much worse after all. </p>
<p>‘We though you would want to be the first to know. After his wife of course.’</p>
            </blockquote>





	One More Chance

_There’s Nothing I Wouldn’t Do,_

_To Have Just One More Chance,_

_To Look Into Your Eyes,_

_And See You Looking Back._

_Hurt – Christina Aguilera_

 

_Ringring_

_Ringring_

_Ringring_

_Ringr-_

“Mado.” grunted the young investigator hoarsely as she sat up in her small but comfortable bed. A call at four in the morning never meant anything good, and it had her on almost instant high alert.

“Mado-san, this is Dr. Watanabe. Is Suzuya-san with you? We have news of Shinohara-san’s condition but we can’t get a hold of him.” said the middle age doctor who had been caring for Shinohara-san for the past three years. Akira rubbed her eyes before glancing at the futon that lay on the floor beside her bed. The lump in the middle was moving, revealing messy tufts of black hair. A second later the blankets parted and confused, sleepy red eyes were blinking up at her. Juuzou yawned and stretched his pale, red-stitched arms above his head in a motion that would have made Akira’s back break.  “Wassit?” he asked, scratching his head.

“It’s the hospital. They’ve been trying to get a hold of you. They have news about Shinohara-san.” At the mention of Juuzou’s old partner, he froze, gaze suddenly alert and weary. He held out his hand for the phone, expression curiously blank for one usually so expressive. She handed him the phone quickly, and he almost snatched it from her hand, pressing it to his ear hard enough that she heard the hinges creak. She would have been angry had she not known what Shinohara-san meant to Juuzou.

“What is it?” he asked, all weariness gone from his voice, replaced by something steely that told Akira he was preparing for the worst. There was a feint buzz in the air as Watanabe-san spoke and then Juuzou’s expression was going slack, mouth dropping open in obvious shock, the phone dropping to his lap. Then, before Akira even had the chance to ask what had been said, he was bounding off of the futon, nearly tripping when he stepped too quickly onto his prosthetic leg, but that didn’t stop him. Barefoot and in his pajamas, he ran out of Akira’s room, and it was only a second before she heard her front door open. There was no answering slam to tell her that Juuzou had shut it behind himself.

*

‘ _Shinohara-san, well he…’_ Juuzou panted as he ran, ignoring the freezing rain that soaked his thin pajamas and plastered his hair to his face. He could still hear the doctor’s words in his head, even though his brain was having a hard time catching up.

_‘Shinohara-san…well he…he’s…’_ His feet slapped against the concrete, his real one stinging and aching with the cold and the wet, but he ignored it. He had felt much worse after all.

_‘We though you would want to be the first to know. After his wife of course.’_ He turned the corner sharply, his prosthetic foot slipping, and then he was slamming into a lamppost, pain blooming in his side, his ribs protesting. It didn’t matter. None of it mattered. Shinohara-san…He had to get to Shinohara-san. He pushed himself away from the lamp post and took off into the downpour once again, his wet clothes clinging to him, his hair falling into his eyes. He didn’t even bother to brush it away.

_Juuzou…._ The sweet voice tickled at the back of his consciousness, and though it would have calmed him any other time, in this instance it only distracted him.

“Go away, Rei-chan.” he yelled, voice ringing out into the storm ravaged night.

But the voices didn’t go away. They never really did. This time it was Jason trying to reason with him, voice calm and rational and annoying. **_Juuzou, you have to slow down. If you don’t you could get all of us killed. I know the doctor said…_   **But Juuzou cut him off, shoving Jason roughly out of his thoughts the way he had learned in therapy. He ran faster, alone now on the rain-drenched sidewalk, his ribs screaming, foot protesting, and none of it mattered.

_‘Shinohaha-san, well he….We thought you would want to be the first to know…’_ He was running fast enough that he almost missed the turn to the hospital entrance and he had to use one of the low stone walls that marked the entrance to stop himself, the hedge that lined it biting into his fingers. Still he didn’t pay attention, merely using his momentum to turn and race through the gate and into the parking lot.

_‘Shinohara-san well he…he’s…_ ’ It was lucky that the doors were automatic or he may have just crashed through them. As it was, he had to slow when he hit the hospital lobby, his feet skidding on the slick floor. He caught himself just in time before he could slam into the welcome desk. The woman that was sitting behind it jumped, looking startled to see him, but he couldn’t care. Instead of pausing to talk or deal with any of the sign in sheets he usually had to, he simply turned and ran towards the fire escape. The elevator would take too long.

He took the stairs two at a time, the metal clanging underneath his feet, his hand gripping the railing tight to keep from slipping and losing even more time.

‘ _Thought you should be the first to know.’_ He passed the first floor and was halfway to the second when he heard someone below him telling him to freeze. He ignored it, not caring what the stupid hospital security staff wanted. He had been good for three fucking years. They could deal with the next five minutes of him not following the rules. And if they tried to stop him…well…

Ahead of him someone burst through the door to the third floor, but Juuzou didn’t even stop long enough to get a good look at them before he was grabbing the railing and flipping himself into the air, landing on the stair just behind the security guard. Rei-chan screamed for him to stop, to teach the guard a lesson, but he ignored her. There was no time. ‘ _Shinohara-san…’_

He hit the door leading to the fourth floor with a loud slam, his wrist stinging from the force of the impact but it didn’t matter. Nothing did.

The door to Shinohara-san’s room was open and voices were trickling out into the hallway, but Juuzou couldn’t tell what they were saying over the sound of his own heartbeat. With a squeak of wet skin on linoleum, he skidded to a stop, finally pausing, his eyes wide as he took in the door in front of him. The room beyond.

‘ _Shinohara-san, well he_ , _he’s….’_ Juuzou took a step forward, then another, guided by nothing more than the sound of the voice he hadn’t heard in three years.

The man was looking away from the door, popped up on to many pillows, and his voice was obviously weak but…

‘ _Shinohara-san, well he, he’s awake, Juuzou. We though you would want to be the first to know. After his wife of course.’_ With a cry that made the room ring, Juuzou rocketed forward, crossing the threshold and leaping into the air before Mrs. Shinohara or the doctor could even notice him. He landed on the bed, on the man sitting up in the bed, his arms instantly clinging to the neck he found there, his wet head pressing against a too-thin shoulder. The form in Juuzou’s arms froze for a moment, and then two weak, thin arms were wrapping around him.

“Juuzou.” the word was whispered against the black haired investigator’s ear, and that single word had a sob wrenching out of Juuzou’s throat, only to be muffled in Shinohara’s hospital gown covered shoulder. Shinohara-san was awake. Shinohara-san was alive, and that was all it took for Juuzou to finally relax into the other man’s hold. It was only then that Juuzou realized that he was shivering. “Juuzou, you’re freezing cold and soaked to the bone. What happened?” the older man (the man who was like his father) asked, thin, weak hands rubbing up and down Juuzou’s back as if he could warm the younger man when his own hands were cold. Juuzou didn’t care though, merely cuddled closer and pressed his cheek against Shinohara’s, reveling in the feel of stubble against his skin. Of deep, even breaths puffing against his head. Of the steady, rhythmic heartbeat that Juuzou could feel in his own chest.  

The sound of feet pounding on the floor, coming closer to them, had Juuzou tensing, finally pulling away from Shinohara-san to glare daggers as the two members of the hospital security staff that dared to follow him here. They paused, and whether it was from Juuzou’s expression or the doctor raising a hand to halt them, none would ever know.

“Watanabe-sensei, I apologize for not apprehending that young man before he could get this far.” said the of the men, and it was all Juuzou could do to keep Rei-chan for lunging for their throats. They were lucky that hadn’t been able to stop him.  

“I’m glad you didn’t, Yamaguchi-san. I called this young man here, though I must say I wasn’t expecting he would show up quite so…wet. This is Associate Special Class Investigator Suzuya of the CCG. He was Shinohara-san’s partner and close friend. It was by Shinohara-san’s wife’s request that he is here. Thank you for your efforts, however.” said the doctor from behind Juuzou.

“Oh. I apologize Investigator Suzuya. I didn’t know who you were. Though maybe if you had stopped at the security desk and let us know we could have all been spared any trouble.” said the security guard with thinly veiled annoyance. Juuzou tensed, Rei-chan screaming vengeance and murder in his ears.

“Don’t hurt them, Juuzou. They were just doing their jobs.” muttered Shinohara-san, voice weak and gravely from three years spent silent. Juuzou pulled away from him reluctantly, slipping off the bed to face the security guards. They were both panting, sweat glistening on their foreheads, and some part of Juuzou couldn’t help but comment that if they wanted to actually _guard_ anything, they may want to work on their stamina, but he held his tongue. Instead he bowed as low as he could, his wet hair falling forward to hang in clumps, moving ever so slightly as he shivered.

“I’m sorry I worried you. I won’t do it again.” he said succinctly and without any actual remorse before he stood straight to turn back to Shinohara-san. It was only then that he actually had a chance to see the man clearly. He was considerably thinner than he had been when Juuzou had met him, his skin pale and sickly,  and at the moment it looked like his eyes were going to pop out of his head. Juuzou couldn’t help the soft giggle that bubbled up at the thought, but then that slight wisp of giddiness that came from Shinohara-san’s expression bloomed into a completely different kind of contentment at the soft, proud smile that touched the older man’s lips. In that moment, for the second time in his life, Juuzou felt complete and total happiness bloom in his heart.

“You’ve grown up well, Juuzou.” said Shinohara-san in that soft, proud tone he had always used when Juuzou did something good. “Though I see you still haven’t grown too old for those pajamas I bought for you.” his tired, sunken eyes tracked down Juuzou’s body. Juuzou had to look down too before he remembered that he was wearing his blue, rainbow covered pajama pants that ended at his calf and the matching white tank top that had a picture of a unicorn head in front of a rainbow saying ‘Bring It On’. The white shirt was see-through by this point, his red stitches showing brightly through the thin material. Juuzou could feel himself shivering now, cold water dripping from his hair onto his shoulders.       

A soft, white towel was placed on his head before had had any more time to think over his impending hypothermia. Startled, he looked to see who it was that had gotten that close to him without him hearing. What he was the smiling, tear-filled eyes of Mrs. Shinohara. “Juuzou-kun’s been doing a lot of growing since…since the accident.” she said, gently massaging the water out of his hair as she spoke. He let her without complaint, though Rei-chan protested heartily. “He has his own partner to train now and everything.”

“Really?” asked Shinohara-san, interest mingling with the tiredness in his eyes. As he slid back further onto the pillows, the towel was removed from Juuzou’s head, only to be replaced by a warm, white blanket.

He pulled it tight around him, as he spoke. “Yeah, I do. But Hanbee’s completely wrong for the CCG. He’s scared of everything and takes forever to fight. And if he dies, I get in trouble!” he complained, teeth chattering the whole time. The cold didn’t completely register to him as much as it would to a person who didn’t have his problems, but that didn’t mean that his body didn’t react to it.

“That’s usually how it works.” said Shinohara-san, still with that small, proud smile. “But you must be doing something to help him if he’s still alive at this point. I’m so proud of you, Juuzou. Come here, will you?” Instantly Juuzou obeyed, his heart fluttering with so much happiness and warmth it was making him dizzy. He had never felt quite this content before and it was weird. When Shinohara-san slowly raised a hand to him, he took it, linking his fingers with the too-thin ones of his old mentor. “I’m so glad that you’re doing well, Juuzou.” said Shinohara-san, breaking Juuzou out of his thoughts. “It’s all I ever wanted for you when I agreed to be your partner. Now, I want you to get yourself dried off and comfortable. I know it would be too much to ask you to go back to your apartment and sleep, but we can at least try to make sure you don’t get sick.” Juuzou nodded, glad that Shinohara-san wasn’t trying to send him away. He had already had to live without the man that was the closest thing to a father he had for three years. He didn’t want to go another night.

“Do you have anything he might be able to change into?” Mrs. Shinohara asked the doctor.

“He could borrow a gown for the night I suppose.” answered Dr. Watanabe with a slight shrug.

“I may be able to help with that.” came the slightly awed, slightly amused voice of Akira-chan from the doorway. Juuzou turned to look at her, a smile curling his lips as he took in the way her hair fell into her face and the fact that her shoes didn’t match. In fact, the red slipper on her left foot looked remarkably like his own… “It good to see you awake, Shinohara-san.” she said, bowing from the doorway before she rounded on Juuzou again, eyes like daggers.“And you. Next time you decide to run out into a rainstorm at four thirty in the morning, at least close the door. My carpet is a disgustingly wet mess and will probably need replacing for mold damage within the week.” But even as she said this she was smiling.

“Soooorry, Akira-chan.” singsonged Juuzou, rocking back and forth on his heels.

“Yeah, whatever. Look, I brought you a change of clothes. Take them before you get pneumonia and die choking on your own phlegm.” she said, rolling her eyes and holding out what looked like her yoga bag.

“That sounds like a good idea.” said Dr. Watanabe. “Can’t have Suzuya-san getting sick when we’re just getting Shinohara-san well again. And in any case we need to change the bed sheets for all the water that got on them.” If Juuzou had been the type to feel embarrassment (like Mutsuki for example) he would have been blushing. But he was Suzuya Juuzou, and embarrassment was not a word that existed in his own personal dictionary. All he did at the mention of Shinohara-san’s now soaked sheets and hospital gown was to grin widely and rock a little faster.

“Oooka~ay. I’ll get changed, but then I want to sleep in that chair tonight.” he said, pointing to the chair he usually sat in when he visited. A soft, tired laugh came from were Shinohara-san had sunk even deeper into the pillows, and it was only then that Juuzou noticed he was already half asleep.

“You can sleep wherever you want, Juuzou.” said Mrs. Shinohara. “But we have to let them get Yukinori comfortable before either of us can go to sleep.” For the second time that night Juuzou nodded and allowed himself to be ushered out into the hallway with only a slightly longing glance as Shinohara-san. This just made the older man smile.

It didn’t take Juuzou long to change, though he had to take off the prosthetic to let it dry, and was now forced to hobble around on crutches until morning at the earliest. Akira had merely rolled her eyes at his complaining, muttering a slightly affectionate ‘dumbass’ before she helped him roll up the pant leg of the purple pajama set she had let him borrow. Once it was secured, she had dragged him back out to the waiting room. For the first few minutes he tapped his foot until Akira gave him a small notebook and a pack of crayons. He spent the next fifteen minutes coloring a pink and blue cat until Mrs. Shinohara came to fetch him.

“We’re ready now, Juuzou-kun.” she said, the happiness still glowing in her dark brown eyes. Instantly Juuzou stood up, eager to see Shinohara-san again. “Now, Yukinori is almost asleep, so you have to be quiet. He needs as much rest as he can get.” she explained. “The treatment is going well, but using modified Ghoul DNA to try and fix the broken neural pathways is a risk we still aren’t sure will work. So until we know if his brain is really healing itself permanently, he needs as much rest as he can get. Do you understand?”

“Of course, Mrs. Shinohara. I’ll be quiet and let him sleep. I promise.” said Juuzou, and he meant it. It had nearly torn him apart to watch Shinohara-san leave him once. He didn’t want to be the one who made it happen again. He waved goodbye to Akira and then stepped into the hospital room that he had spent so much silent, lonely time in. Shinohara-san was laying, still and silent on the bed, and for one heart stopping second Juuzou though that it had all been a dream that he had woken up. But then those brown eyes were opening sleepily, fixing first on his wife and then on Juuzou, and the younger investigator could almost feel his heart start beating again.

Unaware of his thoughts, Mrs. Shinohara moved to Shinohara-san’s side, bending to give him a soft kiss on his dry lips. The tenderness of it made something unknown flutter in Juuzou’s stomach, but he pushed it away in favour of moving to the other side of the bed. He was just about to settle in the chair, but a second before he sat he turned back to the bed, only half aware of what he was doing, and before he could stop himself he was leaning over Shinohara-san, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead.

“Goodnight, my Salvation.” he whispered for the second time. But unlike last time when only silence met him, there was a soft, tired voice that answered.

“Goodnight, Juuzou.”

And Juuzou couldn’t help but smile, a real, genuine smile, at the bloom of pure happiness that filled up the part of him that had once been screaming and crying and begging for someone to save him. To love him. But those screams had long ago been answered by the man that had brought him out of that dark, blood stained place and given him the chance that no one else would. 

He settled down in his chair, curling tight under the itchy white hospital blanket, and let the steady _beep, beep, beep_ of the heart monitor lull him into sleep. And that night, for the first time Juuzou could remember, he didn’t have a single nightmare.

 

Fin

**Author's Note:**

> So, how many of you thought Shinohara was dead? I know I'm evil...sorrynotsorry! Anyway, this story was pretty much written to make myself feel better about the ending of Root A (because seriously Hide is really just sleeping fuck all of you who say otherwise). Plus I just finished reading the end of the manga and my god I'm still crying.... T_T 
> 
> This was beta read by the beautiful and awesome twinkiemonstertallah, who has a bunch of her own stories posted on this wonderful site. You should really check her out. 
> 
> I hope you liked my self-indulgent fic that was written at four in the morning... Loves and squishy gay kisses to all of you! Please tell me what you think. Each comment makes my tiny, Tokyo Ghoul tortured heart heal a little more. Byebye! :) 
> 
> ~AlyaRayne


End file.
